INDEC: Construction fell 6% in March

The National Statistics Bureau (INDEC) has revealed that construction activity fell 6 percent in March compared with the same period in 2013, announcing the figures after it initially appeared that the organisation had decided against releasing the latest data.

During a press conference held at the Economy Ministry, a government spokesman earlier told reporters the index “will not be released today”, and added that he didn’t know when the numbers will be made public.

One hour later, INDEC finally revealed construction activity fell 6% in March and explained “there has been a short delay after all.”

Despite the fall, the month's numbers also register a 2 percent rise compared to February, while the industry has contracted a total of 2.6 percent in the opening three months of 2014 in comparison with the first trimester last years.

Last Wednesday, the same happened with the poverty index for July-December 2013, sparking yet another controversy between Government officials and opposition representatives over INDEC’s reliability.